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A christening of a ship of the line is rare. When it happens, thoughts of how that ship might be used, where it might operate and how it might make new naval history are part of the excitement.

This was clearly evident at the Oct. 20 christening of the USS America, the fourth ship of that name, in Pascagoula, Miss. This ship is not only the lead ship in a new class but will integrate the newest aircraft of the Marine-Navy team aboard a single operational platform at sea. F-35 Bravos, Ospreys and CH-53Ks will fly from her in the years to come. The first ship will operate out of San Diego, sure to be part of the Pacific Century. Keep reading →

The Navy will christen its newest amphibious warfare ship in Pascagoula, Miss. on Oct. 20th. The boldly-named, $3 billion America is a major departure from past designs — and, quietly, the Navy has decided not to build many more like it in the future.

The Chief of Naval Operations himself, Adm. Jonathan Greenert, has said that getting more amphibs in the fleet is his “biggest shipbuilding concern.” But the Navy is only building two vessels to the LHA-6 blueprint, America itself and LHA-7 Tripoli, for which shipbuilder Huntington-Ingalls recently received a fixed-price contract. Subsequent LHAs will revert to a more traditional design. Keep reading →